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Rosemary Infused Honey

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I love France for many reasons, and one of them is the flavored olive oils, vinegars, and honeys. They seem to make each and every dish just a little more special, a little more thought about. A splash of tarragon vinegar, a drizzle of basil oil, or the very best, a little pool of flavored honey. This rosemary-infused honey is a wonderful gift, but also deserves a place on your own pantry shelves. -Amy

I have a probably not-so-distant relative on my dad’s side who, back in the 50’s, authored several Italian and New York-themed cookbooks. This discovery came about when my dad randomly stumbled upon a battered copy of one of her books at a yard sale and mailed it to me. When I saw my very unique, typically misspelled maiden name plastered right there across the cover, I was instantly intrigued. Since then, I’ve managed to score four more of her little cookbooks, including an especially curious one called Eat Honey and Live Longer.

This one, I figured, would be for cookbook shelf display/family history preservation purposes only. Always the savory type, honey never really floated my boat.

But fast forward to an utterly melt-in-your-mouth appetizer that a good friend served one fateful evening, and my opinion of honey changed forever: picture thinly-sliced pears, topped with crispy prosciutto and a tiny crumble of Stilton, and finally drizzled with honey.

Factor in a rosemary plant that I have miraculously managed to keep alive over the winter, an adorable handmade beehive honey pot just recently added to my sprawling pottery collection, and I had the beginnings of an almost painfully easy recipe for infused honey, that will add some extra sunshine to your summertime.

In spring I like to serve this honey drizzled over fresh ricotta-slathered toast or over a log of goat cheese, which is then ready to be spread onto crackers. But now that summer’s here and the grill is running daily, I’ll be trying it next as a glaze over salmon or pork, or maybe mopped onto the tail-end cooking of our famous smoked rotisserie chicken.

Feel free to change up the herbs to your liking – how about thyme? Sage? All of the above? The lemon zest adds just a hint of freshness; double up on the amount if you want a stronger lemon flavor. This keeps for about a week at room temp in an airtight container, but me-thinks it won’t last that long.

Rosemary Infused Honey

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Ingredients:

1 cup honey (light-flavored, such as clover, works best)

1/3 cup rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:

Pour the honey into the top bowl of a double boiler. Bring the water in the bottom pan to a boil., and then turn it down to a simmer. Stir the honey until it becomes slightly thinned and heated through.

Add the chopped rosemary and lemon zest and cook for about 3 minutes, then remove it from heat. Let all the flavors infuse for about 45 minutes to an hour, until cooled.

If you want, while the honey mixture is still warm, you can pour it through a sieve and discard the solids. But for a stronger flavor (and a lovely look), keep the rosemary and zest in the mix and enjoy it!

Photos taken and styled by Mary Swenson.

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